Blast throws another Albany manhole cover

National Grid says cable fire caused a small explosion

Updated 9:06 pm, Tuesday, April 16, 2013

Crews work on a manhole where reports of an underground fire caused the cover to blow near the parking garage on the corner of Madison Ave. and Eagle St. Tuesday morning, April 16, 2013, in Albany, N.Y. (Lori Van Buren / Times Union)

Crews work on a manhole where reports of an underground fire caused...

For at least the fourth time in seven months, an underground cable fire caused a manhole cover to blow into the air Tuesday, this time near the intersection of Madison Avenue and Eagle Street and the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, authorities said.

Even before the most recent fire, the city had threatened to report National Grid to state regulators if the problem was not addressed.

There were conflicting reports as to how high the heavy metal cover was tossed Tuesday, but city officials seized the opportunity to ratchet up pressure on the utility. A utility spokesman said the cover was dislodged several inches, but Fire Chief Robert Forezzi said he was told it jumped close to two feet.

"Up to now, no one's been hurt. ... If there was a line of traffic there stopped at that red light or pedestrians in the street, there's a lot of potential there for civilian injuries," Forezzi said. "How many incidents is it going to take before it happens?"

National Grid spokesman Patrick Stella said the fire was caused by a faulty cable that had smoldered for some time, allowing the resulting gases to build pressure in the underground chamber before the lid blew at around 11:30 a.m.

While the cause is similar, Stella said there's no reason to believe Tuesday's fire is related to one that sent four manhole covers flying on Broadway on March 23, damaging the Olde English Pub at Quackenbush House. Two other explosions jolted downtown a week apart in September, including one captured on video sending a fiery plume into the air around Chapel and Steuben streets.

"All the incidents that we've seen have been on different parts of the network," Stella said, adding the fires can be caused by several factors, ranging from cable age to runoff laden with road salt.

Stella said National Grid has accelerated inspections of the underground cables and plans to test new manhole covers with slots to vent underground gases.

In recent years, the utility has spent $1.6 million to improve its underground infrastructure in Albany, Stella said. Still, the fires have tested the patience of City Hall. In an April 4 letter to the utility on behalf of Mayor Jerry Jennings, Corporation Counsel John Reilly demanded that National Grid provide complete reports on each incident, including the cause and resulting repairs. The city also has called for an early-warning system — such as a smoke or carbon monoxide detector — that would warn of an impending blast.

Stella said the utility looked into such a detection device but as far as it has been able to tell, such a device does not exist.

Reilly also insisted the utility reimburse the city for costs incurred as a result of the fires and threatened to ask the state's utility regulator, the Public Service Commission, to investigate National Grid's conduct if it does not respond to the city's demands within 30 days.

Stella said that the company is working to resolve the problems.

"Safety is very important to us," he said. "We certainly don't want to see anybody hurt."